The
Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Management Rules 2016, is a
wakeup call for different levels of government officials in India to
make a proper C&D waste management and utilisation plan. Capacities need
to be developed at the ULB level to implement management solutions which
are city specific.

Although most governing bodies are yet to
take any substantial action in C&D waste management, a handful of ULBs
in India have already implemented viable models of C&D waste processing.
With Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) being the pioneers in India, few other ULBs including
Coimbatore, Chennai, Tirupati, Jabalpur etc has also initiated the
process of establishing C&D waste units.

The Ahmedabad case study is a fine example
of a viable model of C&D waste management since it covers the technology
and policy aspects for running a comprehensive while profitable business
utilising C&D debris as a resource rather than managing it as a waste.
Few of the most critical aspects included in the business model that
makes it sustainable are as follows:

Multi-Stakeholder Involvement

The 1000 tonnes per day C&D waste processing
facility in Ahmedabad is operated and maintained by Ahmedabad Enviro
Projects Private Limited (AEP Pvt Ltd) which is a Public Private
Partnership consortium formed by the 'Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation'
as the government partner and 'DNP Infrastructure' as the private
partner. The PPP model of operation ensures that the operations of the
company are beneficial for the society and allows the ULB to keep a
close check on the operations of the contractor. The PPP model also
ensures that the ULB shares responsibility of facilitating a proper
management system.

Cradle to Grave Management Approach

The management in Ahmedabad comprises an end
to end approach where collection from the generators site to the
disposal of rejects/inerts after processing have been considered. The
business model ensures that the waste is collected from the demolition
site by providing multiple collection system options to the demolition
contractors. For example the contractor himself can deposit the waste at
a collection compound listed down by the ULB. There are more than 16
collection points geographically distributed all around the city. The
contractor can also contact Ahmedabad Enviro Projects Private Limited
for collecting the waste from his site on payment. The waste is
processed and made into building materials and the rejects are sent back
to the municipality's sanitary landfill. This ensures the waste is
completely handled from the point of generation to its final disposal.

Comprehensive Technology

Comprehensive technology customised to
process the local waste and customised for the local market demand is an
important component of waste processing. A feasibility analysis was
conducted in Ahmedabad to understand the market demand. A need for
substitutes for construction aggregates was understood considering the
fact of high cost due to the distance of sourcing materials from faraway
quarries, hence secondary aggregates were manufactured from C&D waste in
Ahmedabad to substitute the virgin aggregates in the market at a lower
cost and comparable quality. The processed aggregates are utilised to
manufacture a variety of products including paver blocks, kerbstones etc
that have huge demand in the market. In cities where aggregates are
easily available, it has been studied that similar technologies do not
have a market demand and hence alternate solutions need to be developed.

Quality Assurance

The secondary building materials developed
from C&D waste need to be assured of their quality in order to gain
acceptance of the public. For this purpose, quality certification needs
to be ensured. The products made from AEP are tested in the internal
laboratory as well as certified under the 'Get It Green Logo' by ICMQ.
Selected products are also listed under the Griha catalog.

Market Assurance

Market assurance for the private partner is
provided by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation by ensuring that minimal 50%
of the project activities by the urban local body, will utilise the
products manufactured by Ahmedabad Enviro Projects Private Limited. The
clause is laid down in the initial agreement in order to attract
investors to invest in the C&D waste processing business. ■